July 16, 2010 by Jack Fox
This week sees a controversial row over people’s right to express themselves online, following Facebook’s inclusion of a page paying tribute to Raoul Moat, the murderer who shot his ex girlfriend, her partner and a policeman. In the aftermath of Moat’s death, a friend of his has posted a tribute up on Facebook, which has sparked government intervention in a bid to have it taken down.
David Cameron has spoken out against the tribute page, stating that he could not understand how Raoul Moat, a callous murderer, could generate sympathy. A spokesperson from Downing street contacted Facebook’s owners and specifically requested that the page be taken down. Facebook, in a bid to preserve democracy and freedom of speech, refused to have anything to do with governing the tribute pages.
Siobhan O’Dowd, a friend of Moat, is the person behind the set up of the tribute page. Although she has now removed the page in the wake of the controversy, she has said she may well set it up again in the future. She has commented: “We don’t condone what he did, as what he did was wrong. I feel sorry for the families but he was still a human being at the end of the day. He was still a human being. He had problems and needed help and he didn’t get any help – I’m surprised by the reaction to the page.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think this would be the kind of reaction I would get. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Even Facebook said that and that’s why they wouldn’t shut it down.”
Facebook have issued a statement which confirms that they will only ever take down material which is in violation of their terms and conditions. Pages can only be removed either by the administrators of the social networking page, or the person who set it up in the first place.
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